Solar Energy - A Brief History

A solar energy definition in its briefest form might be no more than 4 words: “electricity produced from sunlight”.

A solar energy definition that is more precise might read: “energy received from the sun in the form of sunlight that is captured by solar panels and changed into thermal or electrical energy”.

Solar Energy’s Natural Beginnings

Many people believe solar energy is a very recent technological discovery. In fact, solar energy had its beginnings hundreds of years ago. Thermal solar energy has been used for centuries to dry clothing and meat, and to preserve a variety of foods. Even children have known for years that concentrating sunlight through a magnifying lens, or bouncing it from a mirror, could produce thermal energy to start a fire.

Solar Energy’s Inventive Beginnings

More than 100 years ago, inventors discovered how to capture the sun’s rays and produce mechanical power. They built impressive arrays to accomplish their task, and learned most of what we know today about solar energy.

The earliest recorded use of solar energy is from 1860 to 1880, and is attributed to Auguste Mouchout. Mouchout was a mathematics instructor at the Lyce de Tours in France. Mouchout began his solar work in 1860 due to a serious concern that the supply of coal on which France was dependent would someday be depleted. “It would be prudent and wise,” he wrote, “not to fall asleep regarding this quasi-security. Eventually industry will no longer find in Europe the resources to satisfy its prodigious expansion. Coal will undoubtedly be used up. What will industry do then?”

Mouchout invented a motor that would convert solar energy into mechanical steam power. France’s government was excited, and gave him financial backing. In the years that followed, Mouchout and others created increasingly more efficient solar energy machines. But then the price of coal fell. Solar energy didn’t seem as important, and the government withdrew its backing.

It sounds much like the problems faced by solar energy in modern society.

Solar Energy’s Continuing Progress

Solar energy experimentation did not remain in France. A growing group of scientists in various countries joined the study. In 1892, a Boston resident, Aubrey Eneas, began solar motor experimentation. In 1990, he formed the first solar power company: The Solar Motor Co. Soon, Mr. Eneas moved to the sunny southwest and continued his work until 1905. He and others like him invented solar energy machines to pump water across the arid desert. They were sure the machines were commercially viable, and the work continued until 1914.

Solar Energy since 1914

World War I brought a halt to solar energy experimentation. By the time the war ended, nations had found better ways of transporting fossil fuels, and interest in solar energy was little more than curiosity.

The public drew a veil over the notion that solar energy was available and should be developed. Little was said or done about it during the next 60 years. When the United States experienced a severe energy crisis in the 1970’s, solar energy came into the limelight again. Many people were convinced that the nation should install new photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on every home and building. Then the energy crisis ended. Solar panels were expensive, and people turned away from them again.

Solar Energy Today

Had modern society spent more time studying the work of solar energy’s early pioneers and their machinery, we might have made the switch from fossil fuels to solar energy when society was crying for it. Society is too accustomed to living in the moment, however, and when the price of fuels fell again, solar energy seemed like too much trouble.